Southern California’s housing market may be suffering from a case of “be careful what you wish for.”

It wasn’t too long ago real estate pros said a lack of inventory was frustrating home seekers rushing to buy from limited options. In late 2018, there may be too many choices.

House sellers are finding it takes 43 more days to get a home from listing to escrow compared with the same period a year ago, according to one industry benchmark. House hunters have 8,380 more listings to consider vs. a year ago — an increase of 28 percent.

The latest report from Oct. 18 shows 38,015 listings of existing residences in the four-county region covered by the Southern California News Group. That’s 8,380 more houses for sale in a year’s time — or 28 percent. And current supply is 14 percent above the six-year average.

How is the market accepting this surge in supply? It’s balking! Demand — or new escrows — was 10,579, off 3,066 sales contracts in 12 months or down 22 percent. It’s also down 16 percent vs. previous six years.

That dip in demand has cooled the estimated selling pace. Rising supply and falling demand mean “market time” rose to 108 days for the typical listing to get to escrow vs. 65 days a year earlier and an average 87 days for this time of year in 2012-2017. Last time SoCal homes moved slower was January 2016!

In the four counties …

Los Angeles County: 37 more days to sell vs. a year ago (100 days total) as supply rose 30 percent.

Orange County: 46 more days (111 days total) as supply rose 40 percent.

Riverside County: 58 more days (124 days total) as supply rose 22 percent.

San Bernardino County: 34 more days (104 days total) as supply rose 21 percent.

Jonathan Lansner has been the Orange County Register's business columnist since 1997 and has been part of the newspaper's coverage of the local business scene since 1986. He is a native New Yorker who is a past national president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Jon lives in Trabuco Canyon -- yes, a homeowner -- and when he's not fiddling with his trusty spreadsheet at work you can likely find him rooting for his beloved Anaheim Ducks or umpiring local lacrosse games.